August 14, 2008 Shays may face toughest battle of his career Play video

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Hartford, Conn.) - Republicans lost seats in Congress in 2004 and the GOP is in danger of losing more this time around. The Northeast has a number of Republican representatives who face tough fights in November.

Connecticut is an overwhelmingly Democratic state. Despite that, Republican Chris Shays has held on to his seat in Congress for more than 20 years. Some political analysts think this may be the year he goes down.

Shays is the only Republican member of Connecticut's congressional delegation. He is off for his 21st visit to Iraq since the start of the war. His Democratic opponent this time around is a newcomer to politics. Former Wall Street executive-turned community activist Jim Himes won big in the Democratic primary. The last two campaigns focused on Shays' support for the Iraq war. This time around, it's the economy.

Though Himes is a relative unknown, this race is one of several in the Northeast where a Republican incumbent is at risk. The New York Times has Shays' name on a list of nine Republican representatives who could lose their seats in November.

The numbers say new voters could tell the tale. 7,000 new Democrats have registered since the last election.